Resilient roller for lamp shade binding machines



April 15, 1952 .1 J, CAI-ULL RESILIENT ROLLER FDR LAMP SHADE BINDING MACHINES Filed May 14, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheetl 1 JMU@ Y @MM April 15, 19,52 J. J.. CAHILL 2,592,539 i RESILIENT ROLLER FOR LAMP SHADE BINDING MACHINES Filed May 14', 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR. Jail 72 J Fri/z il BY April 15, 1952 J. J. cAHlLL.. 2,592,539

RESILlENT ROLLER FOR LAMP SHADE BINDING MACHINES Filed May 14, 1.949

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 JNVENTOR.' x Jaim f Cain/Z Patented Apr. 15, 1952 RESILIENT ROLLER FOR LAMP SHADE BINDING MACHINE S John J. Cahill, Bronx, N. Y., assignor to Mutual Machine Company, New York, N. Y., a copartnership Application May 14, 1949, Serial No. 93,292

17 Claims. (Cl. 93--1) My present invention relates to improvements in machines for making lamp shades of the type consisting of a shade formed of sheet material secured at its top and bottom to Wire rings by binding tapes and constitutes certain improvements in the type of lamp shade machine set forth in United States Patent No. 1,958,965, granted May 15, 1934.

In making lamp shades of the type set forth, a preformed iiat blank of sheet material constituting a development of the lamp shade and having arcuate upper and lower edges, is bound to suitable upper and lower wire rings with adhesive tape by passing an edge of the shade ma'- terial, a ring, and the tape bent into U-shape between a pair of rotating pressure rollers, one of which is grooved to accommodate the extra thickness provided by the wire. In most such lamp shades the upper ring carries a spider or cross frame for supporting the shade on a lamp stand or directly upon an incandescent lamp bulb. The spider or cross frame includes connecting wires which usually extend axially inwardly of the shade for at least a short distance and present obstructions over which the pressure rollers of the machine have to ride when applying the binding tape and give rise to wrinkling of the tape or incomplete adhesion of the tape adjacent such connecting wires during such application, and generally prevent the machine from doing a neat and completely satisfactory binding job.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide in a machine of the type set forth a pair of binding rollers of a character such as will overcomethe objections above set forth and operate to more smoothly and neatly apply the binding tape over Vthe ring, especially whereat the depending Wires are connected to the ring.

According to the present invention I form the pressure roller which is provided with the groove for accommodating the wire ring with a plurality of resiliently mounted elements which are adapted to give or be depressed when a depending Wire is encountered in the course of pressure applying the binding tape. The depressible elements are preferably alternately arranged with respect to xed elements of the roller and normally provide a continuous peripheral surface which will apply uniform pressure to the strip of binding material. The invention will be better understood from the detailed description which follows when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section,

of the head of a lamp shade binding machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the novel resilient roller embodying my invention, parts thereof being shown in radial section to illustrate the resilient mounting of the fingers in normal operating relation in the course of binding together the lamp shade elements.

Fig. 2a is a fractional sectional view of the roller shown in Fig. 2 illustrating the position of a resilient finger in depressed position upon er1-'- countering a supporting wire of the upper ring element of the lamp shade during the binding operation.

Fig. 3 is an end-elevation of the' roller shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the body member of the roller shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the body member shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the cage member of the roller shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. '1 is an end elevation of the cage member shown in Fig. 6.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 show respectively a side elevation, a top plan, and an end elevation of one of the finger members of the roller shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 11 is a composite perspective view showing the preformed elements of alamp shade to be assembled by a machine embodying the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of a completed lamp shade applied to the bulb of an electric lamp, part of the shade being broken away to illustrate the character of the assembly of the lamp shade elements.

'Referring first to Fig. 1 of the drawings wherein I have shown the head of a conventional lamp shade assembling machine embodying my invention, the reference numeral I5 indicates-a table top having mounted thereon a pair of parallel upright plates I6 formed with suitable aligned bearings I'I through which extend a driving shaft I8. The plates I6 above the bearings I'I are each vertically slotted as indicated at I9, and mounted for slidable movement in said slots are a pair of bearing blocks 20 which carry a shaft 2I adapted to be rotated through the meshing of a gear 22 on shaft 2| with a gear 23 mounted on shaft I8. The gear 22 is normally held in mesh with the gear 23 by a pair of compression springs 24 mounted within the slots I9, the force of said springs being adjustable through follower blocks 25 which are sw-velly mounted on adjusting screws 26 which, in turn, are screw-threaded through cross bars 21 which span the slots |9 at the top of the plates I6. At the adjacent outer ends of the shafts |8 and 2| there are mounted respectively a roller 28 and a roller 29 which constitute the pressure or operative binding rollers of the machine, .whichrollers are urged into tangential engagementby the springs 24. For separating the rollers to respectively insert the elements of the lamp shade to be assembled and to withdraw the finished lamp shade there are provided rock arms 30 which are adapted to raise-the shaft 2| upon the operation of tripping means controlled by a treadle or the like, as shown -in complete detail in Patent No. 1,958,965 hereinbefore referred to. The machine head construction thus far described is well known and is merely herein included as a setting for an understanding of the present invention.

The present invention is directed to the vspecificeonstruction and operation of one .of the pair of binding rollers of 'the machine head, and .particularly to `the roller V29.

Referring now to Figs. '2 to 10 of the draw- .-ings, `-the roller 29 may be said to comprise a housing consisting of a body member 3| (Figs. 4 and 5.), Aa cage member 32 (Figs. 6 and T1) mounted on and permanently .secured to the body member, and a plurality of finger elements 33 (Figs. '8 to l0) pivotally mounted within the housing.

The lbody Amember 3| is of generally tubular form adapted to engage over Aand be connected to the shaft 2| through the medium vof a set screw '34. The body member intermediate its ends is formed with an annular iiange 35, an .externally facing annular groove v36 and an internally facing groove 31. For a substantial portion of its length, the body portion is milled out to provide a plurality of equal angularly spaced, substantially radially extending slots '38, for a purpose which will presently appear.

The cage member 32 is also of generally tubular form and has an internal diameter to snugly fit over the external surface of the body member from the fiange 35 to the right hand end of said body member. It has an outwardly facing annular groove 39 and is formed with radially-extending slots 4f! corresponding in number to, but of greater width than the slots '38 in the body member, said slots 49 at their inner ends cutting into the inner wall of the cage `toprovide tapered surfaces 4| thereon, for a purpose which will presently appear. The cage member is ,permanently affixed to the body member with the center lines of the slots in the respective members in common radial planes and with the unslotted left hand end of the cage in abutting relation to the flange 35 on the body member to which it may be secured by soldering or the like.

The finger members 33 each have a configuration, as can best be gleaned from Figs. 3 to '10 of the drawings, and may be said to consist of van angular shankportion 42 having parallel side walls 42a and an enlarged head portion 4.3 having parallel side walls 43a. The head portion, when viewed in end elevation (Fig. l) has a curved face 44, the curvature of which corresponds to that of the peripheral pressureapplying surface of the roller 29. The head portion of each of the fingers, when viewed in side elevation, has a groove 45 corresponding in contour and size tothe right hand portion of the lgroove 39 inthe cage member. The shank portion of each of the fingers, when viewed in side elevation, has a transverse groove 46 of a size to correspond with the internally facing groove 31 in the body member. The grooves 45 and 4S in the fingers are so related that when the fingers are mounted within the housing and held in normal position therein, said grooves will be in substantial alignment respectively with the residual portions of groove 39 in the slotted part of the cage member and the residual portions of the grooves 31 in the slotted part of the body member.

The width of the slots 38 in the body member is substantiallyequal to the width of the shank portions of the lfingers and the width of the slots 49 in the cagemember is substantially equal to the width of lthe heads 43 of the fingers, and the walls of said aforementioned slots are adapted to guide the respective parts of the fingers as they move within the housing, as will be .presently explained.

Inassembling the Aroller 29 the cage 32 -is first .mounted on the body `member 3|, as previously described, and a bushing 48 is then pressed into the axial bore of the body member from the left hand end thereof as viewed in I'the drawings .until the inserted end of the bushing reaches the left hand edge of the 'internal groove 31; the ngers 33 are then inserted into the slots of the composite member 3|, 32 to align the groove segments 46 in the fingers with the groove segments 3?.' in the body member, after which a `split spring 41 .is inserted through the right hand end of the assembly until it snaps into the aligned groove segments 3,1 and V46. 'The bush" ing 481is then pressed Vall the way forward until its inserted end lies substantially fiush with the right hand end of the body member. A contractile resilient member such as a garter-spring "49 is then snapped into the groove36 to tension the lheads Vof the fingers radially outwardly about the fulcrum provided Aby the ring 46. Of course, the outward movement of said heads will be limited by engagement of the inner ends of the fingers with the bushing 48 and, as aforementioned, "the parts are so proportioned that the surfaces v44 of the heads 43 of 'the fingers will form a substantially unbroken peripheral wall with the peripheral surface of the slotted portion of the cage member. It will thus be seen that the heads of the rfingersare alternately vdisposed with respect to fixed portions of the cage member and preferably the arcuate or angular dimension of the heads 43 .of the fingers is larger than the arcuate dimension of the fixed portions of the cage member, i. e., fthe arcuate ldistance between the walls .of adjacent slots 38 therein. While the parts are thus held in assembled relation a hole is drilled and tapped through the body member 3| and bushing 48, as shown at 48a (Figs. 2 and 4), through which tapped hole the roller 29 is held onto the shaft 2| by the set screw 34.

Operation-When the machine is at rest the rollers 23 and 29 are in tangential engagement as shown in Fig. l. When it is desired to assemble a lamp shade, a lamp shade blank 58, of suitable plain or decorated sheet material such as heavy paper or the like, 'i5 normally taken from a ypile of fiat blanks. In some instances the blank maiy first be curled manually into substantially frustoconical form. A wire ring such as 5| for providing the bottom frame of the shade is then taken by the operator and the end of a U-shaped binding tape 52 having adhesive coated inner surfaces, which is fed into proximity to the rollers, is applied to initial portions of thelamp shade parts, i. e., to the wire frame and to the sheet material blank, and the rollers are separated by stepping upon the treadle so as to permit insertion between the rollers of the tape, the wire ring and the lamp shade blank. The treadle is then released, whereupon the elements of the lamp shade are caught between the two rollers with the wire ring positioned within the peripheral groove 29, as best shown in Fig. 2. The rollers are then rotated :and the parts will be automatically drawn or threaded through between the rollers until the joint of the shade is iinished. Rotation of the rollers is then stopped, the rollers again separated, the end of the tape snipped off from the shade, and the shade removed from between the rollers. The opposite end of the shade is then completed by repeating the operations just described. Where a wire ring such as `53 for forming the top frame of the shade carries clasping loops `54 for engagement with an electric light bulb or is provided with a spider or cross-arm for supporting the shade upon a lamp stand, said lamp shade supporting means are usually connected to the ring `53 by axial, inwardly-extending wires 155 which present obstructions over which the pressure roller 29 must ride when applying the binding tape to said ring and lamp shade material. Heretofore, the presence of such obstructions frequently gave rise to a wrinkling of the tape when the rollers passed over such wires and also prevented adhesion of the tape adjacent thereto. According to the present invention, however, in view `of the resiliently mounted fingers 33 which are closely spaced circumferentially of the roller, passage of the roller over the wire causes the particular finger which engages the wire to give or be depressed, as best shown in Fig. 2a, of the drawings, and thereby permit the roller to smoothly apply the tape over such wire to provide a neat and completely satisfactory binding job. The roller 29 is of relatively small diameter, hence the fixed portions of the cage member at the periphery thereof are of such small angular dimension as to insure initial engagement of a depressible finger or engagement after a slight amount of surface slippage when the roller encounters an axial wire 55.

As shown in the drawings, the upper roller 29 is the one provided with the depressible fingers. It will be appreciated, however, that if desired, the lower roller may be the one provided with the fingers in which case said roller would be the one employed for engagement with the tape at the inner face of the lamp shade material in the course of assembling the lamp shade elements.

Although the present invention is primarily directed to an improved construction in one of the rollers of a lamp shade binding machine, it will be appreciated that a roller embodying the present invention may have application in other fields of industry. Accordingly, while I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention and a specic application thereof, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts set forth since these may be varied within the range of engineering and mechanical skill without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A roller having a normally unbroken peripheral wall. consisting of alternate circumferentially spaced fixed and movable portions, the mov- 6 able portions being provided by the surfaces oi' analogous parts of a plurality of independently depressible fingers, resilient means biasing said fingers to normally press the said surfaces of the analogous parts outwardly and means for limiting said outward movement of the finger parts so that they will not project beyond the peripheral wall of the roller provided by the fixed portions y thereof.

2. A roller according to claim 1 wherein the finger extend substantially parallel to the axis of the roller.

3. A roller according to claim 1, wherein the fingers extend substantially parallel to the axis of the roller and the peripheral wall-forming parts of the fingers are depressible substantially radially of the roller.

4. A roller according to claim 1 wherein the lingers extend substantially parallel to the axis of the roller and are pivotally mounted.

5. A roller according to claim 1 wherein the iingres extend substantially parallel to the axis of the roller and are all pivotally mounted on a fulcrum which extends concentric to the axis of the roller.

6. A roller according to claim 1 wherein the fingers extend substantially parallel to the axis of the roller, are all pivotally mounted intermediate their ends and are all biased by a single resilient means.

'7. A roller according to claim 1 wherein the fingers extend substantially parallel to the axis 'of the roller, are all pivotally mounted intermediate their ends and the surfaces of the fingers which provide a substantial part of the periphery of the roller are at analogous ends of the fingers and are biased outwardly by a single resilient contractile means which encircles the opposite ends of the fingers.

8. A roller comprising a housing adapted for connection to a rotatable shaft, said housing having a plurality of radially extending slots disposed angularly therearound, an independently depressible finger mounted in each slot, each iinger having a part, the surface of which constitutes a part of the normal peripheral wall of the roller and resilient means urging said finger part surfaces outwardly into peripheral wall forming position.

9. A roller according to claim 8 wherein the housing provides part of the peripheral wall of the roller.

10. A roller according to claim 8 wherein the housing provides a minor part of the peripheral wall of the roller and the finger surfaces provide the major part of the peripheral wall of the roller.

1l. A roller according to claim 8 wherein the walls of the slots in the housing operate to guide the ngers in their movements.

l2. A roller according to claim 8 wherein the fingers are pivotally mounted on a common annular fulcrum and an annular tensioned contractile resilient member engages said fingers and holds them in assembled relation in the housing.

13. A roller according to claim 8 wherein the housing comprises a body member and a cage member, said members having aligned radially extending slots within which the fingers are disposed and guided in their movement.

14. A roller according to claim 8 wherein each of the fingers has a shank portion and an enlarged head portion, which latter provides the major part of the peripheral wall of the roller` ripheral wall provided by xed and resiliently 10 mounted depressible elements alternately disposed circumferentially of the roller.

16. A roller according to claim 15 wherein the arcuate or angular dimension of the depressible elements is larger than the arcuate dimension of the fixed elements.

1'7. A roller according to claim 15 wherein the 8 depressible elements are. disposed substantially parallel to the axis of the roller and extend to one side wall thereof.

JOHN J. CAHILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,958,965 Goldberg May 15, 1934 2,358,918 Floto Sept. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 610,484 Germany of 1935 

